In computing systems and networks, “chargeback” is used to allocate the costs of information technology (IT) resources to the people or organizations who consume them. The purpose of chargeback is to gather data on resource use, allocate charges for the use of these resources, and present the results in a comprehensible format. While it can be applied in situations where IT resources are dedicated, it is particularly relevant in situations where resources are shared. If there is not some way to meter and charge for consumption of resources, then there is a tendency for users to use more resources than they need. This problem is exacerbated in cloud environments where users are able to provision their own resources using self-service.
Because of its self-service provisioning and rapid elasticity, organizations are looking to exploit the benefits of cloud computing. The shift towards user-driven provisioning means that cloud users are able to consume resources without needing to seek approvals or provide any business justification. In order to ensure that cloud resources are used for activities that deliver business value, some organizations use a chargeback application for metering cloud resources and charging cloud users based on their consumption. Chargeback helps cloud users understand how their consumption of resources translates to a cost. This benefits cloud users as it enables them to adjust their consumption in order to control their IT costs. It also benefits the IT organization as it enables them to achieve higher utilization rates across their servers.